Khufu's Solar Boat from Woody Joe

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

 Ahoy from Sung Harbor Johnny !  After seeing a summarized build of the funerary yacht of Pharo Kufu (also known as Cheops, builder of the Great Pyramid of Egypt) offered by the Woody Joe company of Japan,  I was intrigued enough to order one to examine for myself.  The subject is the oldest complete ship in existence (about 145' overall length), and was discovered in 1954 in a sealed chamber next to the Great Pyramid.  It was apparently entombed intact, but in 4,500 years the internal reed fastenings deteriorated enough that the tenoned planked hull 'disassembled' itself.  The experts took their time to take everything out of the chamber and eventually reconstructed the craft for display in its own museum.  You can find out all the details on line, as I'm focusing on the kit.

 

  Per info found in the forum, one can order from a dealer in Japan (Zootoys ?) and pay through PayPal.  I didn't want to setup an account for a single purchase, so ordered through an Ebay vendor - with Ebay securely handling my credit card info. as a 'guest' (no need to join Ebay).   The price in yen listed by Woody Joe works out to around $176 - not including tax (Japan has a 10% value added tax) or shipping, so my guess if ordered through the dealer in Japan might come to $220 altogether.  I paid $248 (plus $11 to 'expedite') through Ebay, but wasn't pinching pennies (the middleman has to make something) and preferred the security offered by Ebay.  I was pleasantly surprised that the well-packed box arrived in 12 days via FedEx - and the carrier water for someone to answer the door and receive the package (the Admiral, who knew that I place the order).

 

  The first photo shows most of the contents, all well organized and in plastic sleeve sub-units (not in the photo is the instruction pamphlet - more on that later) and the two-piece drawings of the model (needed to produce parts of the kit) have been left folded, since I did not want to depict an image of it.

  Note:  what looks like a singe sheet of laser cut wood in some of the packages is really a stack of SEVERAL sheets contains multiple parts.  You are just seeing the top sheet in those stacks.  The design of this kit is rather sophisticated as the model to be constructed has many curves - including the deck.  So the cabin on the deck has curved bottoms, vertical end pieces (so they are not 90 degrees at the base) and a horizontal roof.  It would be difficult to work out all the odd angles, or even the method of assembly in a scratch-build.

 

  This may be a great project for someone new to wooden ship modeling to begin with, since the focus is on learning to handle, bend, do some trimming/shaping and gluing of wood (and some fairing) - and later tint as desired.  There is no mast or sail, since the original was towed and the oars were mainly for steering and positioning, although in a pinch rowing was possible.  Thus there is no rigging (other than to secure the oars) ... no guns, gun ports complicated carving either.  The vessel has interesting lines, and there is a clever way the planking is done upside-down on an internal framework that is ultimately removed.  The only 'catch' (which I knew about in advance) is that all the instructions are in Japanese.  This might be a real disadvantage for a beginner, were it not for the Google translate app.

 

 I happen to have the most basic Trafone Blu phone (Android) that I use for emergencies only, or to keep the Admiral posted as to my whereabouts should I have to be away.  If an old, non-tech guy can figure out how to download an app I suppose just about anyone can do it.  I used the phone's camera (after selecting Japanese to English) held above the Japanese text (just a bunch of characters to my eyes).  What appeared in the picture was then an 'overlay' of English text ... but the verbiage kept changing into alternate 'translations' ... ways of saying things, I guess.  Part of the challenge was the small size of some of the text in Japanese - so I took pictures of those areas with my digital camera (not the low-res cell phone), pulled the images onto the desktop of my computer, then printed the photos to hold the translator over.  That solved many problems, but the smallest text required me to crop the photos of that text in photoshop in order to print an further enlarged version that the translator app could reliable make sense of.

 

  In short, translating the instructions into English is an absolute MUST for this to be a beginner's kit.  The process of doing this familiarized me with the well-illustrated instruction pamphlet, and queued me into some of the finesse needed in a few places of the future build - as well as a few places for improvements.

 

  The wood is all of Japanese Cedar (the original ship was made of Middle Eastern Cedar) and there is no plywood.  In an ideal situation, all the wood stock should be heartwood, yet there is a transition form heartwood to sapwood in some of the kit stocks. (Note:  the 'keels' used temporarily during construction are composite material - but are not part of the model as these parts are removed.)  The wood looks great, with no warpage - and the quality of the laser cutting is the finest I've see ... they must have a micro-fine beam that is perfectly tuned so not to have excessive burning seen on some other kits.

 

The pre-cut display stand is some other wood comparable to heartwood poplar.  Some really fine brass brads are packaged for use in some places - but I'd rather find an alternative construction technique and use the brads for something else.  There are two laser cut scale Egyptians (flat), which is a neat idea (so why not supply a few of them to put on disc bases for placement on the model?)

 

  Just to contrast to a couple other beginner (or slightly above) kits at a comparable price... Billing's Roar Edge  (a re-design of the challenging Vikingsskibbe) might be considered a beginners kit, but all the laser cut parts are a type of plywood, and many note that the instructions could be better - it does make an attractive coastal trader at 1:25, the same as their Oseberg.  Occre's Endurance (perhaps an intermediate kit) has a lot packed into the box - and good instructions as well (augmented by an excellent on-line video), yet some note that simplifications of the original ship were made to ease the build - so adding aftermarket upgrades (e.g. 3-D brass railings) will raise the cost.

 

  Back to Khufu's Ship:  Below is a closer shot of the laser cutting.  Cabin pieces have roughly parallel lines, as planks were used to make the original cabin.  What looks like 'gaps' in these lines is by design, as surface battens (also on the original) go in these places - so once assembled one does not see any gaps from the outside - as if the cabin were laboriously planked from the inside.  The left board is seen from the bottom of the laser cut - showing a minimum of 'burn'.  The right board is seen from the top of the laser cut - and it is clean and precise.

 

 What looks like (and is) a rib on the left is still attached to a 'bulkhead' - the slots of which key into aforementioned 'keels' used to make a building form that is later taken away in a specific way.  As I said, a lot of engineering went into this deceptively simple kit - it is surprisingly sophisticated once one envisions the actual build process and the competed results.  The components of the hull planking sections have a lot of irregular lines, which is because the original boat was made of irregularly shaped planks that were expertly joined together, stabilized by internal tenons and fastened on the inside with reed twine and papyrus caulk ... no need for nails, rivets or tree nails.

 

  The photo below is interesting.  I've hand written my translations (gleaned from the app, but not always clear or identical) for what seems to be optional items to 'pimp' the model somewhat.  'Don't know why someone would paint the hull green - or apply gold to the bow and stern.  It likely had a shade cover, but the museum ship doesn't have the extended framework going past the cabin astern. 

  The next pic is the parts list, that took a little figuring out.  The translation of the cautionary text is below the picture:

 

1.  Assembled model is shown.  Please read all instructions before assembly.

 

2.  The plastic bags in the kit must not be handled by children, place over head or swallowed.

      There is a danger of suffocation.  Please safely discard plastic bags.

 

3. Smooth all parts and discard waster or scraps in the trash.

    The material is easily broken especially by children.  Take car around other people.

 

4.  Parts are still sharp - use only for intended purpose.  Be careful if small children are present.

 

5.  There are small parts.  Do not let children ingest or swallow, especially small children.  Swallowing presents a suffocation risk.

 

6.  A need for nippers, knives or files when assembling.  Those under 12 need parent or guardian supervision.

 

7.  When using adhesives please note the following:

   - Don't use in a closed room.  Don't overuse.  Danger of addiction.

   - Don't use near fire - danger of ignition.

   - Don't get paint or glue in eyes.  In case of accident, rinse with plenty of water and see a doctor.

 

8.  Parts subject to change without notice.

 

The last 3 images are enlargements of areas of the parts list above.  'Turns out that a part number often refers to a laser cut board containing a number of parts - some numbered and some lettered (e.g. 15 -A, 15 -B  versus 5 -9, 5 -10).  Again, the cross referencing of parts and the steps they are used in gave me a much better understanding of how the boat will go together when I get to building it (future build log).  'Looks like a fun build.

 

 

 

 

 

'Guess whenever a build gets underway, I'll have to include the images of steps with translation (plus other tips).

 

Fair sailing!     Snug Harbor Johnny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by Snug Harbor Johnny
typos

[catopower]

Hey Snug Harbor Johnny, nice purchase!

 

If I make another major Woody Joe kit purchase, this is kit I've been thinking I'd get. I've seen a couple builds, and it looks like a very interesting project.

 

Only problem for me is that I actually have a huge stack of Woody Joe kits in my closet. I only just managed to finish a small one. Unfortunately, this only served to slow the rate of growth of the stack, not actually reduce the size of the stack.

 

Looking forward to reading about your progress whenever you end up getting started!

 

Clare

Edited June 6, 2022 by catopower

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

On 6/6/2022 at 3:21 AM, catopower said:

Hey Snug Harbor Johnny, nice purchase!

 

If I make another major Woody Joe kit purchase, this is kit I've been thinking I'd get. I've seen a couple builds, and it looks like a very interesting project.

 

Only problem for me is that I actually have a huge stack of Woody Joe kits in my closet. I only just managed to finish a small one. Unfortunately, this only served to slow the rate of growth of the stack, not actually reduce the size of the stack.

 

Looking forward to reading about your progress whenever you end up getting started!

 

Clare

  Thanks, Clare.  I have 5 kits in stock aside from the build (summer suspended) of the Billings old Wasa kit.  Rather than accumulate any more, I need to start a 'buy one - build one' policy.  Your 'nudge' prompt me to squeeze-in a build of the Khufu boat, as I've been thinking about ways to do it justice as I roam the hospital halls in my per-diem job as a pharmacy Tech ... lots of picking and delivery and endless running around with meds.  It's what I call a 'working retirement' ... well, with inflation and meager savings wee still need the income.   Johnny

[markjay]

Glad to see that some you are doing a detailed view of the build and that the summary I posted peaked your interest.

[BobG]

On 6/4/2022 at 8:39 PM, Snug Harbor Johnny said:

 After seeing a summarized build of the funerary yacht of Pharo Kufu (also known as Cheops, builder of the Great Pyramid of Egypt) offered by the Woody Joe company of Japan,  I was intrigued enough to order one to examine for myself.

Great review, Johnny! I hope you will be doing a build log for this wonderful model.

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  No way around building Kufu's boat now.  It will also serve as an 'extension' to my review, e.g., the kit calls for rounding the provided square stock to support the canopy framework over the cabin.  This seems a lot of work - so they could have provided round stock, since MANY of these verticals  are needed and individually rounding them can result in irregularities unless one uses a draw-plate (presuming the square stock is straight grained).  As mentioned, the original posts have lotus heads that I'd like to include - ergo the idea of turning bamboo skewers.  Obviously the kit can be simply built 'as is' and get a nice looking result, but I'd like to do better.

 

  Per forum rules for the Review Section, the kit reviewed must be unbuilt - so the build will have to cover additional oddities or work-arounds that can only be discovered by doing a build.

 

  On the topic of having too many unbuilt kits stashed away, that is how old kits find their way onto Ebay when these things end up in estates or are otherwise passed down.  My Dad left me two Steingraeber kits - the Agilis and the Fair American.  I quite forgot that he had the hull of the Agilis (Baltimore clipper) planked and decked - so I neglected to search for it in the jumble left in his house (the executor allowed a limited time for basement scrounging, and most things upstairs had already been pre-labeled for various recipients).  Later I harvested what was left in the box as raw materials.  The other kit was unbuilt but was missing components, and like the Agilis there were things I didn't care for in those 1970's kits:  screw eyes were to be twisted into the hull to tie 'chainplate' made of rigging rope; plastic deadeyes and blocks, both out of scale; masting appearing too tall for the hulls; simplified rigging; dubious fittings and rigging rope ... yet there was decent planking wood and mast/yard stock of various diameters.  More recent kits do a better job of the lines and everything else on the Fair American, so the materials are being used on other projects as convenient, e.g. I'm using the gun carriages for the 1:100 Wasa (fitted with the optional Billing gun barrels).

 

  Old kits can have die-cut or pre-cut bulkheads (versus the laser-cut pieces common today), or they may be simply printed onto whatever stock was included ... meaning that many parts will have to be individually cut out (preferably with a scroll saw), then cleaned and hand fit into place.  'Guess its all a matter of how much fiddling one will do on any given project, and what short cuts or simplifications are acceptable to the builder.  Every project is its own voyage of discovery, and the journey along the way is what makes it worthwhile.

 

 

 

  

 

 

[markjay]

"No way around building Kufu's boat now.  It will also serve as an 'extension' to my review, e.g., the kit calls for rounding the provided square stock to support the canopy framework over the cabin.  This seems a lot of work - so they could have provided round stock, since MANY of these verticals  are needed and individually rounding them can result in irregularities unless one uses a draw-plate (presuming the square stock is straight grained).  As mentioned, the original posts have lotus heads that I'd like to include - ergo the idea of turning bamboo skewers.  Obviously the kit can be simply built 'as is' and get a nice looking result, but I'd like to do better."

Round tooth picks worked well for the supports, they are slightly tapered and I found give the right effect.